


The dreams I had were red and gold

by HopeSilverheart



Series: Loving Em at 2AM [22]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Girls in Love, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Minor Injuries, Self-Indulgent, Soulmates, matching wings, wing fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:27:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24689878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeSilverheart/pseuds/HopeSilverheart
Summary: Because the wings on Clary’s back were the matching pair to the ones Maia saw in the mirror when she let them out. Pure white feathers that shone with an almost golden glint when the light hit them, complimented by tiny red and gold curly patterns. The same size as Maia’s, too. Everything about them felt familiar, and the mere sight of them sent a pang of longing and desire and love through Maia.Or: Maia & Clary are two fools in love who also happen to be soulmates.
Relationships: Clary Fray/Maia Roberts
Series: Loving Em at 2AM [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764400
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	The dreams I had were red and gold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thatnerdemryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemryn/gifts).



Maia had had wings for almost as long as she could remember.

One of her first memories was of her parents’ horrified faces when she woke up one day with wings on her back. They had disappeared hours later, making them believe they had hallucinated everything, but Maia had known better.

She had been five-years-old and had still been able to feel the large appendages on her back. They were invisibly most of the time, only showing up when she was distressed or in danger of highly emotional.

It was only when she entered the Shadow World as a newly turned werewolf that she understood what the wings meant. Most downworlders didn’t have them, as she quickly learned. She had never mentioned her wings, but everyone knew about shadowhunters and the majestic feathers that stuck out from their backs. Everyone _also_ knew about the importance of soulmates in Nephilim culture.

Every Nephilim had a second half, someone with matching wings who would complete them. Most of the time, the other person was also a shadowhunter. However, as with many things, there were exceptions. The High Warlock of Brooklyn, for example, had huge black wings with tiny blue and gold stars scattered all over them. He didn’t keep them a secret from other downworlders, but Maia knew he didn’t show them to shadowhunters, wanting to meet his soulmate the old-fashioned way.

She had almost talked to him once, if only to know whether there was a protocol to follow. She had no idea what she was supposed to do if she ever found her soulmate. It was no secret that downworlders and shadowhunters didn’t mix, and she would never want to force anyone into a relationship just because of something as messy and uncertain as Fate.

So she hid her wings from everyone, including her pack. She didn’t want them to think any less of her for being linked to an angel-blooded warrior. She didn’t want to be treated differently for something she couldn’t control, so she didn’t tell anyone about her beautiful secret.

However, she never stopped looking out for the wings she knew better than the back of her hand. Every time shadowhunters came around, Maia observed them from a distance, both hoping and fearing to see the feathers that matched her own. She was still young and she knew she had plenty of time to meet this infamous soulmate, but it didn’t make the waiting any easier.

Eventually, she stopped worrying about her Nephilim soulmate so much. Her wings hadn’t made an unplanned appearance ever since she had become a werewolf. She had gained control over her emotions and had never been more thankful for it. Who knew what her packmates would have done if her wings popped out every time she got angry?

So, slowly but surely, the wings faded to the back of her mind. She never doubted that she would meet her soulmate someday, but she didn’t let it control her life. She lived and worked and partied as though she was just another downworlder.

In the end, ignoring her wings and pushing away thoughts of her soulmate payed off.

She was 19-years-old when a group of hare-brained shadowhunters burst into her life and made themselves at home in her heart. The Lightwoods were a reckless but enthusiastic trio if siblings – although Maia was quite sure the eldest brother only acted impulsively to please the younger pair. And with them came Clary Fray.

It turned out Luke’s step-daughter was a newly-discovered shadowhunter, and a gorgeous one at that. She was fiery and stubborn and sometimes a little arrogant, and Maia liked her from the get-go.

Clary was one of the few shadowhunters who truly didn’t see the difference between Nephilim and downworlders. She kept her wings away all the time in a remarkable show of modesty, and she respected werewolves as much as she respected her own superiors. It was refreshing and wonderful, and Maia found herself falling a little bit more in love with her every day.

She never said anything, of course, not wanting to betray her soulmate before she even met them, but there was something incredibly fascinating about Clary Fray. Try as she might, Maia couldn’t stay away from her.

They texted each other well into the night, went out for drinks whenever they had time on their hands, and stared at each other from afar during downworlder events. Something was pulling them together like magnets, and Maia didn’t know whether she would be able to resist it for much longer.

So when Clary showed up at the Hunter’s Moon one night, blood pouring down her arm and wings out, Maia didn’t know whether to be terrified or elated.

Clary was bleeding in front of her, clearly injured from some gruesome demon battle. She was probably in pain, and Maia should have rushed towards her and tended to her wounds immediately. The blood should have been Maia’s main focus. She shouldn’t have been able to see anything else whilst the woman she was growing to love cradled her broken arm against her chest.

However, this was the first time Maia saw her friend’s wings. The first time Clary had lost control in her presence and had let them extend to their full size. The first time Maia understood what was going on with Clary and her.

Because the wings on Clary’s back were the matching pair to the ones Maia saw in the mirror when she let them out. Pure white feathers that shone with an almost golden glint when the light hit them, complimented by tiny red and gold curly patterns. The same size as Maia’s, too. Everything about them felt familiar, and the mere sight of them sent a pang of longing and desire and love through Maia.

She couldn’t believe she hadn’t realised what the pull between them was before then. She couldn’t believe she didn’t have the time to think about the meaning behind those wings quite yet. Right then, her soulmate was hurt, and not even Maia’s discovery would get in the way of an overprotective werewolf who wanted to heal her mate.

“Clary,” she murmured, shaking herself out of her daze and carefully dragging the woman to the bar’s back room. She gestured for her colleague to get out and grabbed the medical kit as quickly as possible, taking out bandages and gauze and everything else she could think of. “You reckless, foolish shadowhunter. Why are you here alone? More importantly, where’s your patrol partner, and why didn’t they apply an _iratze_ to your arm? I swear, if someone left you to bleed out like this…”

“Maia,” Clary breathed out, a small smile curling at her lips. “I’m fine. This is barely a scratch. I’ll get someone to check me out as soon as I get back to the Institute, but I needed to come here. I’m not sure why, but I just… I needed to, alright? I left my partner before they could so much as touch me.”

The soulmate bond, then. That made more sense than anything else, so Maia didn’t even think about questioning Clary further. Instead, she finished bandaging the redhead’s arm and crossed her legs, getting ready for a conversation that would either be wonderful or completely disastrous.

She let her eyes wander over Clary’s wings. They were brighter than Maia’s, in a way, and the werewolf couldn’t help but wonder if it was because her soulmate was more careful with her wings. Maybe there was a way to groom them that Maia hadn’t quite perfected. She had always tried her best, but there wasn’t much she could do about her lack of knowledge about wings.

It wasn’t like werewolves had classes about that sort of thing.

“I can put them away if they bother you.”

Maia’s gaze snapped to Clary’s face. The redhead looked awkward, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt as though it was the only thing keeping her grounded. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she was worried about Maia’s reaction to her wings. After all, she had deliberately kept them hidden from the brunette. Maybe she had never planned on showing Maia her wings at all.

Maybe she had never shown them to anyone.

“They don’t bother me,” Maia shook her head, curling her hands into fists to stop herself from reaching out and carding her fingers through Clary’s soft feathers. “In fact, they’re beautiful. The gold and red is very… you.”

It was very _them_ , actually. Red for Clary and Gold for Maia, or vice-versa. The werewolf couldn’t think of a pair of colours that represented them better than those two. The more she thought about it, the more obvious the connection between Clary and her became. They had really been oblivious fools.

“I don’t really show them to anyone other than family,” the redhead admitted, staring at Maia as though to impress upon her the importance and significance of the gesture. As though Maia didn’t know. “Most people have them on display all the time, like Izzy and Magnus, but I- I never really feel comfortable when they’re out. They’re still too new. Even though I know they were always there, it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve only known about them for a few months.”

It hit Maia then that, just like her, Clary was clueless about how to take care of wings. She had to be one of the only shadowhunter who hadn’t grown up with her wings on display. One of the only people who, like Maia, had only found out what the feathers meant when she was older.

They couldn’t have fit better together if they had tried. After meeting Clary, Maia had been slightly sceptical about the idea of soulmates, but now… It all made sense. Fate really _did_ know what it was doing.

“Talking about things that we don’t really show anyone,” Maia started, chuckling nervously as Clary sent a sharp look her way. “Yeah, there’s something I should probably show you. I haven’t- No one knows about this, but if things go well, they will soon.”

Before Clary could say anything else, Maia took off her jacket and tossed it behind her. She rolled her shoulders a few times and breathed in deeply, trying to fight back the growing anxiety inside of her. This was fine, this was Clary, this was her _soulmate_. She wouldn’t reject her, especially not once she saw their matching wings.

It would be fine.

She let her wings unfold, shutting her eyes as tightly as possible and waiting for Clary to say something. The redhead gasped softly, and Maia knew she understood what was going on. Knew she was seeing red and gold on pure white, feathers as soft and bright as her own.

“Maia,” Clary breathed out. The brunette opened her eyes cautiously and looked up at her soulmate from underneath her lashes. “Maia, they’re beautiful. They’re beautiful, and they’re…”

“Yeah,” Maia laughed wetly, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall as she spoke. “Yeah, they are. You know, we should have figured it out earlier. I can’t have been the only one to notice there was something between us, an inexplicable pull. In hindsight, it’s obvious that we’ve been- that we’ve been…”

“Soulmates all along,” Clary completed for her, a grin as bright as her wings taking over her features. “Oh my god, of course we are. Of course we are, because I would never have felt so attracted to someone else, would have never been so charmed by anyone else, would have never fallen in love with someone who isn’t my soulmate. I thought I was broken somehow, but I was just _blind_. Maia, we’re soulmates!”

“We are,” Maia whispered, laughing and crying in relief. She leaned forwards and pressed her forehead against Clary’s, wanting to feel her soulmate, wanting to feel the woman she was madly in love with. “And we fell in love with each other even though we had no idea it was what Fate had planned all along. If that’s not some soulmate bullshit right there, I don’t know what is.”

Clary giggled along with her, slapping her arm playfully with her uninjured hand and almost tumbling into Maia’s lap as she did so. They were tangled together, limbs and feathers everywhere, and Maia couldn’t stop smiling. She was with her soulmate, her goddamned soulmate, the person she had been waiting for all her life.

“I love you, Clary Fray,” she murmured, her breath ghosting over the redhead’s cheek. “I loved you before I knew we were meant to be together, and I’ll love you even more from this day forth. Hell, I’ll start letting my wings out all the time just to show everyone how much I love you. Let them all see how beautiful we are together.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Clary rolled her eyes, though her eyes were shining lovingly. “You don’t have to tell anyone you’re my soulmate if you don’t want to. I know downworlders don’t really have the same views on everything as us, so I wouldn’t mind keeping it a secret. I mean, you can’t all be like Magnus freaking Bane, you know?”

“Oh please,” Maia scoffed. “If Magnus can flip the Clave off by claiming the heir to the Institute as his soulmate, I can do the same for you. You’re more than worth it, Clary. I’m not sure anything I do will ever be enough to show you how much I love you. I kept my wings hidden because I didn’t want to deal with them alone, but with you by my side? There’s nothing I can’t do.”

“Well then,” Clary sighed dramatically. “I suppose if my soulmate wants to show her wings off, I’ll just have to do the same thing. It wouldn’t do for anyone to think you’re not taken. I love you too, Maia Roberts, and I hope you know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make you happy.”

“That makes two of us, then,” Maia beamed, rubbing her nose against Clary’s. “I’m never going to let you go, angel.”

Maia cut Clary’s next words off with a gentle kiss. The first brush of their lips was gentle, as soft and loving as Maia’s feelings for Clary. The second was more passionate, desperate, a reminder that the two women had been pining after each other for months already.

Months they could have spent together, if only they had had a little more common sense. Maia lost herself in the kiss, not even realising her wings had curled around Clary’s protectively until her feathers touched Clary’s and sent waves of pleasure and warmth down her spine.

She had never felt anything as intoxicating as that single touch, and she wondered how she had lived so long without it. How had her wings made it through so long without their matching pair? Now that she had Clary in her arms, she couldn’t even imagine pulling away.

Their lips were still pressed together, their arms wrapped around each other’s waists, and their wings fluttering happily around them, forming a warm cocoon of white, red, and gold.

Maia had had wings for as long as she could remember, but she had never loved them as much as she did when they unfurled completely and pressed themselves to Clary’s.

Her wings had found their match, and so had her soul.

**Author's Note:**

> Heya guys! Thank you so much for reading! As always, this isn't beta'ed/edited, so excuse any mistakes I might have made. I really wanted to write something soft tonight, hence the soulmate AU paired up with wings. Nothing better to make my heart melt. Also, a quick reminder that I love Em with all my heart and that writing these fics for her is the best part of my day <3


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